Mobility Basic Figures

Passenger vehicle stock in the Netherlands has grown from about 4.2 million cars in 1980 to 7.4 million cars in 2007. In 2007 the average number of vehicles per household was about 1.1 million cars. Gasoline cars have had a very large market share (over 85%) of the vehicle stock since 1980. Regarding the development of alternative car types LPG driven cars have increased from over 300,000 in 1980 to more than 0.5 million in 1990 and decreased after that again to a quarter of a million in 2007. The stock of electric cars started increasing since 1999 and stands at about 9,500 in 2007. The first flexifuel vehicles were introduced in the Dutch market in 2006 (the city of Rotterdam has decided to establish a municipal FFV vehicle fleet and has build up also the first E85 refuelling station in the country) continually growing towards more than 7,000 in mid of 2009. In 2008 there were sold 3,679 FFV.

As it focuses on these measures to encourage the use of biofuels, the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment is taking important steps towards a sustainable energy supply. In 2007, 2% of the petrol and diesel sold on the Dutch market had to consist of biofuels. Initially, it was decided that this percentage, conform the European Biofuel Directive 2003/30/EG, should increase to 5.75% in 2010. However, in October 2008, the Dutch government amended the biofuel targets for 2009 and 2010, due to public concerns about the sustainability of biofuels. The target for 2010 is now set at 4%.

E-Mobilty plays a key role in the strategic planning of the Dutch government. Following the "Action Plan for Electric Driving" the Dutch Ministry of Economy has announced that alreaddy in 2011 there is envisaged a figure of 2,000 new registrations of electro cars. Until 2015 the annual figure of new registred electro cars shall growth to 20,000 units; in the following years a further sharp increase is anticipated. For the year 2020 it is planned that about 1 mill electro cars will be registered in the Netherlands which is about 20% market share.

The European Environmental Atlas lists one biodiesel pump and on www.fuelswitch.nl/index.php there are listed 14 refuelling stations for biodiesel.

The European Environmental Atlas lists about 1,000 refuelling stations for GPL (there are a close network in all regions of the country) in www.fuelswitch.nl/index.php there are listed more than 300. Another extensive list is presented on www.ngv-holland.nl/content_tank.php.

In www.metanoauto.com/modules.php there are listed 49 open refuelling stations for biogas all over the country in www.fuelswitch.nl/index.php about 72.

Following www.schonevoertuigenadviseur.nl there are five pumps for flexifuel E85. According to findings of the EU funded project BEST there are 29 E85 pumps in the Netherlands in April 2009.

On www.h2stations.org there is listed one hydrogen refuelling station related to prototype testing (Petten), two others are in planning stage (the CUTE station in Amsterdam is planned to be reopened in 1.7.2010).

The webpage www.lemnet.org/LEMnet_Land.asp lists 4 public accessible recharging stations for electric vehicles in the Netherlands.

Tax Incentives

Various taxes on motor vehicles with incentives are applied.

• The Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT), payable when a car is sold to its first buyer, is a kind of luxury taxes. It has to be paid by the first in whose name the vehicle is registered. New part of the VRT is called “slurptax”, a CO2 surcharge for less efficient cars. The VRT rates with effect from February 1, 2008 changed. The VRT is calculated on the net list price of the car. Deduction or addition shall be made subject to the energy consumption, yes or no hybrid car, CO2 emissions as well as PM emissions (particulate matter). Energy Label A and B have lower VRT to be paid. With Energy Label D, E, F and G, more VRT to be paid. For the energy label C is the standard rate charged VRT. In case a hybrid car is on top of any bonuses due to energy aspects, a discount amount of 2,500 EUR (energy label B) or 5,000 EUR (energy label A) to calculate the VRT is apllicable.

• The CO2 charge, popularly called the slurptax applies only to passenger cars which were first put into service on or after February 1, 2008. Higher VRT have to be paid, when more than 232 grams of CO2 per kilometres (for petrol cars) or more than 192 grams of CO2 per kilometres (for diesel cars) is emitted. Depending on the emissions of particulate matter (PM) for diesel cars after April 1, 2008 it is put into a discount or premium on the VRT calculated, except as for campers. The discount or premium on the VRT can be calculated by the volume of emissions of particulate matter (mg / km) between 200 EUR and 900 EUR on the outcome subtracting.

• The car tax is payable by all owners. The amount of this tax varies by province and is also dependent on the weight of the vehicle and the fuel used. From April 1, 2008 owners of cars with low CO2 emissions pay half the rate for cars with the same mass and same type of fuel not meeting the requirement standards. For cars with diesel engines, the emission maximum is 95 grams CO2 per kilometre. The category 'gas and other' currently only covers gas, electricity and hydrogen are exempt from vehicle tax. Cars of 25 years and older are exempt for the car tax.

• The basis for the so called “Addition” is the list price, including VAT and VRT, as stated in the price of the importer. Options that have been made in the factory, such as metallic paint and sunroof are also included in the base. For private use of company cars at least 25% of the list is added to the salary. If the benefit of private use correspond to more than 25% of the list, there must be assumed a benefit. For an environmental (system) car in force since January 1, 2008 there is only a permanent addition of 14%. This applies when CO2 emissions are lower than 95 g / km for diesel cars and 110 g / km for non-diesel cars.

The Dutch Government consequently stimulate the purchase of electro vehicles by tax incentives during the so-called “start-up phase” (expected to last until 2018). Until 2018 alle electro vehicles are exempted from the purchase tax (BPM) and from the annual circulation tax (MRB). For investments of companies in commercial fleets several tax incentives are granted (MIA, VAMIL, KIA) which can totalling in an amount of 19% of the overall investment costs. Tax incentives are also given for investments in recharging infrastructure (reduction of energy tax).

In the Netherlands fuel tax was calculated on a per litre basis. For gasoline there was an excise tax of 0.701 EUR/litres and a storage tax of 0.005 EUR/litres, for Diesel 0.413 EUR/litres and 0.005 EUR/litres respectively as well as for LPG 0,068 EUR/litres and 0,0029 EUR/litres respectively. For hydrogen there is no excise tax. In late end 2009, the Dutch parliament changed the excise tax on E85 giving a 27 % refund on sustainable produced E85.

In 2006 a start was made on biofuel policy in the Netherlands by providing tax incentives, in the form of a reduction in excise tax, to encourage the blending of a 2% biofuel component (bioethanol, bio-ETBE or biodiesel). The target percentage for the blending of biofuels was 2% of petrol and diesel placed on the market. In case of the displaced quantity of gas oil (diesel) to which at least 2% of biodiesel had been added, the reduction in excise duty amounted to 6.10 EUR per 1,000 litres. If less biodiesel was added the reduction was lowered proportionately. In addition to the general reduction in excise duty for ethyl alcohol and biodiesel, relief from excise duty (0.365 EUR per litre) was granted, on a more limited scale and subject to certain conditions, for a small number of projects involving pure vegetable oil in 2006. In 2007, the biofuel policy was continued by requiring suppliers of petrol and diesel for road transport purposes to ensure that biofuels account for 2% of their sales in the Netherlands, calculated on the basis of energy content. In 2010 the target to be reached must be 5.75%.

Funding

The Agency of the Economic Affairs Ministry carries since spring 2008 a subsidy for the construction of alternative refuelling stations. In this regard there are many provinces that give grants to service stations and / or natural gas vehicles.

Environmental Investment Deduction (MIA) and the accelerated depreciation Environmental Investments (Vamil) are two tax systems of the Ministries of Finance and Housing for companies. In 2008 filling stations for alternative fuels, hybrid buses as well as electric vehicles were put on the MIA list.

Regulations

The Netherlands is one of the EU countries having introduced a fuel economy label, which helps car buyers easily assess the impact on climate change of different cars based on a colored scale. All new cars have this so called “energy label” (Energy Consumption Passenger Cars (Labelling) Decree of 3 November 2000 and the amendment to this Decree dated 19 November 2004). The categories are indicated with the letters A to G and the colors (three colors) green for close, yellow for average and (three shades) red inefficient. The label provides information on energy consumption of a car. Cars with an A-label are the most efficient fuel. Cars with G-label are the least. Cars with average fuel consumption for their size have a C or a D-tag. In each "size" are cars with an A or B label. A car with A-label uses at least 20% less fuel than an average car of that size. The fuel bill for a car with label B is 10 to 20% lower than that of a car with an average consumption for that size. The labelling system is used i.e. for providing tax incentives for fuel-efficient cars or in public procurement.

There is a national Low Emission Zone (LEZ) agreement that cities may join. All LEZs in the Netherlands have the same emission requirements. The LEZs currently apply to heavy-duty diesel-engined lorries over 3.5 tonnes Gross Vehicle Weight. The minimum standards are:

• Until 1 January 2010 minimum standard is Euros 2 and 3 with particulate filter or Euro 4.

• Between 1 January 2010 and 1 July 2013 minimum standard is less than 8 years

• old and Euro 3 plus filter.

• After 1 July 2013 the minimum standard is full Euro 4.

The Dutch Government consequently stimulate the purchase of electro vehicles by tax incentives during the so-called “start-up phase” (expected to last until 2018). Until 2018 alle electro vehicles are exempted from the purchase tax (BPM) and from the annual circulation tax (MRB). For investments of companies in commercial fleets several tax incentives are granted (MIA, VAMIL, KIA) which can totalling in an amount of 19% of the overall investment costs. Tax incentives are also given for investments in recharging infrastructure (reduction of energy tax).

Others

In the Netherlands road traffic is the most important noise cause compared to other ambient noise sources. Car tyres contribute to it predominantly on busy streets in particular at speeds from 30-40 km/h and faster. With optimised tyre rolling resistance air pollutant emissions and 3% of fuel consumption can be avoided. Noise emissions while rolling differ from tyre to tyre. Fuel consumption (and thus emission of air pollutants) is affected by tyres rolling resistance and tyres wet grip affects road safety. Therefore, a Dutch programme intends to increase the amount of people using environmental friendly tyres by 5% per year and to animate people to check car tyres pressure frequently (once a month). With “De Niewe Band” (“the new tyre”) a campaign was started to promote the use of environmental friendly tyres. As part of the campaign a database gives information on safety (wet grip) and environmental performance (rolling resistance and rolling sound) of commercially available tyres.

In 2005 the Agency of the Economic Affairs Ministry created two calculation programs, i.e. the Environmental Scan Efficiency (MES) and Imova (public transport). Both instruments give the first insight into the environmental impact and cost of the current vehicle fleet. Depending on the ambition to be number one, vehicle selected variants were calculated. These variants are in terms of environmental merits and costs against the environmental impact and costs of the current fleet. Outcome is the "environmental ambition" for its own fleet, compared with available techniques and cost estimates. For example: "How much would cost natural replacement, switching to LPG vehicles and how much emissions would be constituted?".

In a pilot project, the Agency of the Economic Affairs Ministry has launched at the end of 2006 the so called “energiebon”. A voucher with 35 EUR value was given to every 18 years and older inhabitants of the Island Texel. With the voucher energy-saving appliances and energy efficient products can be purchased including vehicle re-fitting with environmental friendly technology.

A multi-criteria analysis of PricewaterhouseCoopers, Significant and Ecofys from January 2009 for the years 2007/08 shows that 27% of all public procurement volume in the Netherland can be considered as green which was a comprehensive low figure. In the transport sector (vehicle purchase) the average level of green procurement on the total procurement value (indicator 1) was calculated with about 8% and the share of single contracts comprising green criteria on the overall number of contracts (indicator 2) was about 25%.

In the Netherlands, the European tendering procedures are laid down in the Public Contract Procurement Procedures Decree (Besluit aanbestedingsregels voor overheidsopdrachten, BAO) and the Special Sectors Tendering Decree (Besluit aanbestedingen speciale sectoren, BASS). These two decrees constitute the implementation of two EU tendering directives (2004/17/EC and 2004/18/EC). The options available for sustainability criteria are limited by the legal framework of European Procurement Guidelines. A Policy Advice Group, which includes procurement lawyers from various ministries, has therefore set up a Sustainable Public Procurement legal framework based on their interpretation of the European legal framework, to assess all criteria before deciding on them.

All Dutch criteria have been assessed by this Policy Advice Group. Criteria are published and can be used by purchasers in a tender only after a positive recommendation. The criteria have been developed for the product groups including vehicles. The main part of each criteria document including the criteria itself has been translated into English in order to inform foreign interested parties about public sustainable procurement in the Netherlands and the criteria developed so far. While environmental criteria will be valid for 45 product groups, social criteria will be applicable for all public procurement above the threshold of European procurement.

Each year, governmental organisations spend more than EUR 50 billion on the purchase of supplies, services and public works. Presently, are 13 departments and their agencies on central government level, 468 municipalities on local government level as well as 30 water boards and 12 provinces all applying for public procurement regulation. The central government is aiming for 100% Sustainable Public Procurement in 2010, while the municipalities aspire towards 75% in 2010 and 100% in 2015. Provincial governments and water boards have set themselves the target of at least 50% in 2010. 100% Sustainable Public Procurement is understood to mean that all purchases meet the minimum requirements that have been set for the relevant product groups at the time of purchase.

The Ministry of Environment and the Agency of the Economic Affairs Ministry is responsible to promote green procurement in the Netherlands. Every 2 years (started in 2004) a monitoring report will be/was sent to the House of Parliament to report the state of play in the field of Sustainable Public Procurement (environmental and social sound criteria).

The Sustainable Public Procurement Coach is a web-based instrument that provides various public authorities the opportunity to track their own performance with regard to Sustainable Public Procurement. After answering several questions, the SPP coach provides a customised advice to a public organisation on how to improve the organisation and implementation of SPP within their organisation. Also best practices and suggestions to do more on SPP are supplied. At this moment the SPP Coach is only available in Dutch.

A Sustainable Procurement Manual was developed to help public purchasers and other staff involved in procurement processes to take the first steps toward sustainable procurement. The manual is directly linked to the Criteria Documents and is meant to be an aid when using these documents and in particular the criteria. It is fully applicable for the purchase of vehicles.

Sustainable Public Procurement Manual for Government Procurement Officers

Criteria for the Sustainable Public Procurement of Service Cars

Criteria for the Sustainable Public Procurement of Heavy-Duty Motor Vehicles

Criteria for the Sustainable Public Procurement of Public Transport

Criteria for the Sustainable Public Procurement of Special-Purpose Passenger Transport

Criteria for the Sustainable Public Procurement of Transport Services

Brandstofverbruiksboekje Januari 2010 (booklet provides an overview of all models cars on the Dutch market and delivered before October 1, 2009 in the registry of the RDW were processed. All car brands in alphabetical order stated. By brand first all petrol cars, then - if

present - all natural gas, LPG and hybrid cars, and finally all diesel cars listed)

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